 We step into a small room at Summerhall and find a young woman who is nameless, but brought to life withl flair and razor-sharp wit by Louisa Marshall as she is scrubbing a kitchen counter with the determined fury of someone trying to erase more than just a stain. She’s just ended a four-year relationship. His name? We never learn it. But you’ll get to know him intimately, because for the next hour, you the audience will be stepping into his shoes.
From the kitchen we tumble back in time into a pulsing nightclub, where she spots her ex for the first time, and the wicked conceit of the show clicks into place. Marshall’s unnamed protagonist plucks different audience members to embody her boyfriend, putting them on the spot with questions and challenges: How would you react to a question from your partner? Pulling a “sex face”? Can you be a decent cleaner? Could you survive assembling Ikea furniture together? It’s chaotic, cheeky, and hilariously revealing. Marshall proves herself not just a captivating performer but a deft improv conductor, steering the energy of the crowd with precision and mischief, ensuring the story lands exactly where it needs to. But beneath the laughter lies a sharper commentary on weaponised incompetence and the quietly corrosive behaviour where one partner deliberately underperforms at basic domestic tasks, shifting the burden onto the other. Early in the play we learn that after their first night together in this home, he is perfectly capable of cleaning and that was a turn on for our lead. Yet the moment they moved in together, that skill seemed to vanish. The audience, now drafted into his role, is asked to perform or fumble through these domestic moments, unwittingly revealing how absurd and infuriating such incompetence can be when viewed up close. This framing turns a clever interactive conceit into something more incisive: a study of how small acts of avoidance can snowball into emotional exhaustion. For independent women like the one Marshall portrays, it’s not simply about dirty dishes or unbuilt Ikea cabinets but it’s about autonomy eroded over time, the slow shift from equality to quiet servitude. By letting the audience be the boyfriend, the play makes you feel both the intimacy and the irritation of living with someone who can but won’t, holding up a mirror to the everyday dynamics that chip away at relationships. Lee Hutchison 4/5 Clean Slate Venue: Former Gents Locker Room at Summerhall Dates: August 12-24th (excluding 18th) Time: 1750 Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/clean-slate |
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